grunblack
Full Member
Can't wait to get back...
Posts: 132
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Post by grunblack on Aug 2, 2007 4:13:58 GMT -5
As promised on the General Board, I have a food specific question. I have enjoyed reading posts on certain restaurants but am now trying to put together a realistic list for our first 6 days and 7 nights in Paris (particularly night one - staying in 4e). So for those of you who have been to Paris before (or have heard great things), could you please help me structure some breakfast, lunch & dinner ideas (range of prices) and maybe even food shopping suggestions as we are staying in an apartment? My notebook is ready to take it all in! Thanks for your help, and I hope this is the sort of specifc post Gitte was looking for
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Post by Happygoin on Aug 2, 2007 6:12:16 GMT -5
Hi grunblack, usually I go to the local Monoprix and pick up some groceries my first day. For breakfast, I pick up yogurt (the yogurt in Europe is so different from ours in the US, it's great!), and some juice, jam, crackers and cream for coffee. Interestingly, they don't have a whole aisle devoted to cereal as we do in the US. They have 5 or 6 different varieties and that's it. And, with the exception of muesli, it's what I think of as kids cereal. Anyway, then I run over to the nearest Comptoir Richard to buy some of their great coffee to make at the apt. Then I usually find a market to pick up some nice cheese to have on hand. In the morning, I just get up and run over to the local boulangerie (there's ALWAYS a local boulangerie and pick up croissants and/or bread to have with juice and yogurt. Obviously, I have a preference for eating breakfast in my apt. You can always sit at the local cafe and have your coffee and croissant.
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Post by Truffaut on Aug 2, 2007 8:40:08 GMT -5
Happy's advice is good. Personally, I prefer to have a croissant and coffee at a local cafe (we're lucky that we have a very good boulangerie in our neighborhood that actually has a cafe counter and serves coffee), but my partner prefers Happy's method.
As far as dining in the 4th, I'll offer a few recommendations:
Le Pamphlet (actually in the 3rd, but only a 15-20 minute walk from Hotel de Ville) on rue Debellyme. Superb cooking, excellent service, very attractive ambiance, nice wine list. About $60/person with a bottle of wine.
Chez Omar (also in the rd, but about the same distance as Pamphlet) on rue de Bretagne. Possibly the best couscous in the city, very attractive environment in an old-fashioned, nicotine-stained way, good service. About $35/person with wine.
Le Petit Picard (in the 4th) on rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie. Good traditional cusine (nothing inventive or surprising, but always a good value), service with a big smile, lively. About $40/person with wine.
L'Arganier on rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie. Good North African cuisine such as couscous or tagines. Nice environment, belly dancers on weekend nights. About $35/person. Try an Algerian wine.
Au Bourguignon du Marais on rue François Miron. Good Burgundian fare, nice wine list. About $45/person.
Le Rouge Gorge on rue Saint-Paul. A wine bar where the menu changes every few weeks to reflect a different French regional cuisine. It's very small and popular with locals, so a reservation is essential. About $45/person.
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Post by luvparee on Aug 2, 2007 12:41:27 GMT -5
We stayed in an apartment last summer and our first stop was the closest grocery store for staples and breakfast items and Comptoir Richard for their fabulous coffee.
We did not have any specific plans for lunches and stopped wherever we were when we all got hungry. We were all delighted with the various cafes, etc., and always had great food. We did make a lunch reservation at the restaurant at Palais Royal one day and our last day we had reservations for lunch at Jules Verne.
We shopped the markets, boulangeries, and patisseries when we wanted to have dinner in the apartment at the many take-away places that were in our neighborhood.
I don't like to have to come back to a motel or apartment after a long day out and about, change for dinner, and then have to make a long trip somewhere for dinner. We had several great restaurants close to our apartment and chose those for the evenings when we were not dining at the apartment.
So many choices!!!! And too little time!!!
Enjoy!
joy/luvparee
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Post by greyghost1 on Aug 2, 2007 14:37:30 GMT -5
All good suggestions. I always stop at the local Monoprix first thing, unless it's a SUnday cause it's closed. I have found great French wines and 1/2 bottles of champagne at very low prices there. I love the 1/2 bottles cause I can finish a bottle during dinner.
We usually don't eat dinner out because I feel lunches give better value. With so many markets and the bio-market at Raspail, which is awesome...cooking in the apartment just makes sense. Also give Picard a try. They have a number of locations. The products are very good, esp. the escargot.
If you happen to be in the 5e, around the Pantheon, do eat at Cafe de la Nouvelle! It is excellent food at excellent value and the wines per glass are reasonable and also excellent. I want to go back to Paris just to eat there.
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Post by annettecinca on Aug 2, 2007 19:09:55 GMT -5
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Post by sistereurope on Aug 2, 2007 19:18:00 GMT -5
I also stop at the store to stock up on coffee supplies and butter and jam, and visit the local boulangerie every morning. I wish that I could get into the European swing of things and eat my big meal at lunch, but I usually eat pain au chocolate and assorted other goodies in the morning so I'm not hungry at lunch - I usually eat cheese and bread or a crepe or something light for lunch, then pig out at dinner (luckily we're used to eating dinner late. One time someone said that we feed our kids too late and I was actually proud rather than offended ;D)
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Post by greyghost1 on Aug 2, 2007 19:54:17 GMT -5
Annette, thanks for the link. That is exactly as I felt, like I had wandered into some white nether-world but what a trip! And the choices are very interesting. Even if you don't buy anything, do go into one, just for the experience.
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Post by margaretlb on Aug 2, 2007 22:06:17 GMT -5
Close to the Champs Elysees on av. George V is Les Saveurs du Flora. Flora Mikula is one of the few (but growing) number of renown female chefs in Paris. Her prix fixe lunch is E25 with a good glass of wine. This is my new favorite restaurant. The food is astoundingly good, fairly makes your mouth sing - you can't help but smile after the first taste of each dish. There is a high level of hospitality and generosity. For instance, you are given a trio of elegant amuse bouche and with dessert, a tray with several homemade candies (one an anise lollipop!). This is not a standard kitchen and the dishes are very creative and innovative. Yes, there are offal dishes with unusual recipes and presentation as well as fish and meat. Even on the prix fixe it's difficult to decide as all looks so good. So good in fact, that we returned for Lucho the next day so as to try other selections. It also have a beautiful dining room and if you decide to go, call ahead for reservation and ask for the window table (or eat on the small terrace) and enjoy the street theater.
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Post by Happygoin on Aug 3, 2007 7:34:18 GMT -5
Hi Margaret, what a nice mini-review, thanx. Welcome to our forum, btw. Les Saveurs du Flora sounds like it may have to go on my ever-growing restaurant list
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grunblack
Full Member
Can't wait to get back...
Posts: 132
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Post by grunblack on Aug 5, 2007 4:57:07 GMT -5
Margaretlb - thank you for the great suggestion, I think I'll note that one down so I can make a reservation when we arrive!
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Post by GitteK on Aug 5, 2007 6:11:20 GMT -5
To fill in refrigerator: icecubes (in freezer) lots of mineral water grapefruit juice (look for the freshly squeezed juices in the refrigerator in the supermarket) eggs jambon cru jambon cuit thin slices of saucisson (Lyon style, uhmmmmmm.....) small packet of butter for frying tomatoes fresh onions cucumbers small jars of youghurt (OBS! look for sugar reduced versions, some the regular youghurt types are too sweet IMO) - flavour: abricot and white peaches confiture with lots of fruit in it small jar of dijonnaise (delicious mixture from "Maille" of coarse mustard and mayo) small quantities of "luxe" fruit: fresh raspberries, blueberries, forest strawberries, abricots, cherries Up at 7:00 - down to local boulangerie - ask for "une demie baguette" + 1 piece of patisserie or croissant.
Back to apt. - slice baguette into halves. Spread a little dijonnaise and then stuff with tomatoes, ham, slices of hardboiled egg, thin onion rings, cucumber, saucisson. Cut into chunks.
Make coffee, pour juice on icecubes, cut patissierie in small mouthfuls and arrange with a little fresh fruit on a small plate, arrange chunks of stuffed baguette on a big plate ......
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Post by margaretlb on Aug 5, 2007 9:19:44 GMT -5
I know what you mean, Gitte. All that breakfast bread and pastry is not kind to my hips, either I love those little jars of plain yogurt and add preserves "to taste". I particularly like the sheep milk yogurt that I can't find at home. And I really miss my normal fresh fruit so have to be sure have that available, too. I stay in a hotel so at least several times a week I head to the local cafe for either a "British or American" breakfast for my egg fix. Love those runny eggs!!
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Aug 5, 2007 9:35:42 GMT -5
Margaret, if you like the option of a "real" American breakfast with eggs, try Breakfast in America (17 rue des Ecoles - the location where I've gone two or three times - and also at 4 rue Malher near the St Paul Metro stop. The breakfasts are exactly what you would expect (complete with old fashioned toasters on every table - they bring bread and you toast to your own taste), plus the atmosphere is a kick to find in Paris - very authentic American diner look.
I like croissants, pain au chocolat, etc., very much - but on a long stay I like to go there for a late breakfast one morning.
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grunblack
Full Member
Can't wait to get back...
Posts: 132
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Post by grunblack on Aug 7, 2007 4:53:08 GMT -5
Gitte - what a fantastic idea. I love the occassional sweet breakfast but your plan sounds wonderful for every day. Thank you!!
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Post by Darcy on Aug 7, 2007 16:53:12 GMT -5
If you're visiting Pere Lachaise, here's a great little place nearby for lunch. This review is copied from somewhere, but I've eaten at La Boulangerie and loved it. That last time I was there, Sept 2006, we were three and each had a starter, a main, 2 glasses of wine and we shared a large bottle of Badoit for €58. A real bargain!
La Boulangerie: A Gem of a Restaurant du Quartier
Food-loving visitors to Paris always have their special places. There are the bistros we recollect for their revelatory tastes or for the perfect simplicity of their French cuisine du marche. There are the restaurants and cafes we return to again and again by choice, not circumstance. Charmingly low-key and welcoming, La Boulangerie is my quintessential Parisian restaurant du quartier. This is that rare small restaurant that consistently hits multiple high-notes--- it is utterly affordable, trés sympathique, and it offers delicious food and well-priced wines. During every Paris sojurn I head to this favorite of mine out in multicultural Menilmontant--- and it always proves to have been well worth the journey. The décor is simple. This one-time bakery offers two adjoining rooms (one nonsmoking), both of which are pleasantly decorated with light woods. They each feature tall lace-curtained windows and pastoral frescoes painted by local artists. The chef–owner has a deft hand with spices and offers deeply flavored, yet light, French cuisine. And at 12.50 E for a top-quality three-course lunch, this has to be one of the best buys in Paris. A recent lunch with two friends (one a vegetarian) yielded three excellent meals. We started with an unusual Kir Mousseaux (white wine and crème de Chataigne) while we studied both the formules for the day and the à la carte menu. Good bread, herbed olives and water were placed on the table as soon as the menus were offered. And La Boulangerie offers a variety of formules—entrée and plat, entrée-plat-dessert, or plat and glass of wine. Our vegetarian diner was delighted with his entrée of caviar d’ aubergine, incorporating herbs and flavored oils. This was followed by a richly satisfying oeuf en cocotte with cream of fine herbs and brioche toasts. The meat-fanciers, on the other hand, chose entrees of a tartare of salmon perfumed with citronelle and coriander, and, a tarte au chevre et jamon. These were followed by plats of cracklingly good coquelette with verjus and honey, and osso buco in a lovely light olive and tomato sauce, and scented with epices douce. Desserts were a rich and deeply caramelized tarte tatin, a textbook-perfect crème brulee, and a rich tarte sable chocolate. A 50 cl ‘pot’ of Cotes du Rhone for 10E was a fine accompaniment. Darkly, rich café completed our soulfully satisfying meals. The four-choice entrée, plat-and-desert formule market-menu always includes a fish selection. On this day it was brandade de grenadier with olive oil and herbs. The a la carte menu regularly offers a range of tempting choices, including confit of lamb, rouget with anchoiade, veal, beef, duck and more. And the food is always attractively presented. Dinner plats run 13-16E, and the formule runs 15.50. There is abundant choice of well-chosen wines for under 20E a bottle, as well as 50 cl ‘Pots’ of chinon, cote du rhone, or vin du pays du drome for 10E. Wines by the glass are 4 E. Lunch or dinner at La Boulangerie is unquestionably worth the short trip from central Paris. It is also a great spot to enjoy a mid-day meal after one has explored nearby Pere Lachaise cemetery, or the Park de Belleville, or the multi-cultural Belleville/Menilmontant quartiers, or even the Canal St. Martin. But no excuse is needed—just hop on the metro, and have a terrific meal for not much more than you’d spend for a salad in an average café. La Boulangerie. 15 rue des Panoyaux, 75020 Paris. Telephone: 01 43 58 45 45 Metro: Menilmontant. Bus # 96. Open Monday-Sat. Lunch- noon-2:30 Dinner: 7-10:30.
Sorry this is so long.
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Post by Happygoin on Aug 8, 2007 6:27:47 GMT -5
The Boulangerie sounds lovely. I've never heard of a Kir Mousseaux. What is Creme de Chataigne?
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Post by Jody on Aug 8, 2007 6:37:51 GMT -5
It's a chestnut liqueur
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Post by Happygoin on Aug 8, 2007 7:12:58 GMT -5
Thanks, demarais.
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Post by Truffaut on Aug 8, 2007 7:35:59 GMT -5
Also in the area of Pere Lachaise, we enjoy Le Saint-Amour. It's the ONLY place in Paris that I've found to have good onion soup (hardly the thing that one searches out, but it really was good). Lunch offers a full menu, but also a very good selection of large salades composées.
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